


Old Love

by FitznFizz



Category: Yonderland (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Love, Multi, Old People In Love, The Chamber of Elders, The Six Idiots, polycule
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-17
Updated: 2020-12-22
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:07:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,751
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28128852
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FitznFizz/pseuds/FitznFizz
Summary: How the Elders show love in little ways. They're really old now, grand gestures aren't their style anymore.
Relationships: Chief Elder Choop/Lord Elder Pressley, Chief Elder Choop/Scribe Elder Ho-Tan, Chief Elder Choop/Vice-Elder Flowers, Chief Elder Choop/Vice-Elder Flowers/Scribe Elder Ho-Tan/Lord Elder Pressley/Wise Elder Vex, Chief Elder Choop/Wise Elder Vex, Lord Elder Pressley/Wise Elder Vex, Scribe Elder Ho-Tan/Wise Elder Vex, Vice-Elder Flowers/Lord Elder Pressley, Vice-Elder Flowers/Scribe Elder Ho-Tan, Vice-Elder Flowers/Wise Elder Vex
Comments: 13
Kudos: 36





	1. Ho-Tan

**Author's Note:**

> LOOK I've recently become very obsessed with this show and it is my friends fault so here have this it's disgustingly soft and sappy.

One of Ho-Tan’s favourite things about the rest of the Elders is the routine they give. That she can always rely on them to stay constant in the warmth they bring to her life, despite the rest of the chaos that often wages around them that is often brought about by their own hand. It’s the quiet moments that Ho Tan really notices the closeness.

In the mornings she sits next to Flowers and enjoys the warmth of his usually bare skin against her nightgown while they eat breakfast, often being the two first up. She says nothing if Flowers is even less clothed than usual and instead rolls with the punches as they walk arm in arm in the morning grass and discuss their days, often helping each other with their hair before gathering the others. Her first doodle in her notes during meetings are often Flowers eyes surrounded by the plants they saw that morning, and very deliberately not any other part of his anatomy as she might get sent to HR.

During meetings she often leans over to fix a stray hair of Choop’s that’s come loose from his intricate style. He doesn’t let anyone else touch his hair during the day, so Ho-Tan takes extra special care to make sure her touches are gentle and loving. And if she happens to let her hand fall on his shoulder and squeeze on occasion then who’s to know? Her lunch time doodles are of swirling hair and Choop’s sharp profile when he side-eyes her with thanks.

In the evenings, after the Elders have eaten dinner and relax together doing their own things, often Ho-Tan will sit next to Pressley and they watch one of their shows. She rests her head against his and plays with his shirt fabric between her fingers, pretending not to notice the contented hums Pressley lets out throughout the evening, letting her ankle get locked with his and her other hand get gently squeezed at intense moments when she yelps in surprise. They’re often quite tangled by the time they finish watching, Pressley giving her a warm smile and another squeeze on the hand before hobbling off to bed. Her evening journal notes are full of drawings of Pressley’s hand around hers and his rare smile as he talks at the Television.

And finally, in the night. Often Ho Tan sleeps in her own chambers, but a few nights a week there will be a knock on her door, or she will knock on another, and Vex will open it, his bedclothes on and a warm expected smile on his face. They lie across from each other and talk through the day, each evening feeling more like a sleepover than a routine, and Ho Tan lets her plaits be taken out and her hair gently brushed, and in return gently fluffs up Vex’s hat hair. They usually fall asleep with a hand on the other’s face, taking stock of the wrinkles, old and new, and sharing the stories and wisdom that only they know. The first thing Ho Tan does in the morning is draw Vex’s smile lines and write down their conversation, followed by a small piece of paper ripped out every morning with a simple note left on Vex’s bedside table.

None of them are fully aware of Ho Tan’s routine, but she adores it, and on her bookshelf on the bottom shelf are identical journals full of similar sketches, and often in her alone time she will open them all up and watch the growing of new flowers, the greying of hair, and the new wrinkles that she’s captured throughout the years.


	2. Choop

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Choop isn't one to be very open with his emotions, but he does have them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yes i did write all these the same day. yes i am posting them all at once. who are you my mum?

It had been a long, _long_ day of meetings at the Chamber of Elders. Aside from their usual meeting/catch-up with Debbie, they also had to meet with the leader of the new ‘Wisp Tolerance and Understanding’ group that had popped up a few weeks ago. Two meetings in one day was almost double the usual, and all the Elders were feeling it. Choop, as designated leader (maybe? No one’s sure who’s _actually_ in charge anymore, especially since Ho Tan sits in the middle now) was trying to keep a close eye on the rest of them, but he himself was getting bleary eyed by the time 3PM came around. Vex had already dozed off 3 times, and Ho Tan’s handwriting had become almost illegible, mixed in with strange doodles of what seemed to be eyes in the margins. Pressley had been massaging his leg for the past 15 minutes and Flowers was fidgeting even more with his robes than usual. They technically had to go over the notes of the day before they could fully retire, but Choop couldn’t bring himself to keep them on the uncomfortable out of date Luxi-Bum 6001s another second, especially when Vex’s head drooped onto his shoulder for the 4th time.

“Right. I think we’re done for today. Come along Chaps and Lady.”

“But the notes haven’t been properly recounted for the evening!” Ho-Tan protested even as she immediately started climbing down from the tall bench, bringing her book and Quill with her. “How else will we know that Debbie’s aunt’s 3rd birthday is this Saturday?”

“I thought it was her 60th?” Flowers asked as he helped Pressley down, a hand staying around his waist after the shorter man had reached the floor.

“Oh…Well I suppose I was rushing while writing.” Ho-Tan squinted at her book, and Choop couldn’t help the fond smile that was thankfully hidden by his moustache.

“We can worry about that another day, Ho-Tan. For now, I think we should all go about our days and come together in the sitting room later-on. It’s been a long day and _I_ for one would like a game of Yonopoly.” And Choop walked out the Chamber, but instead of heading to his personal chambers he quickly crept into the kitchens.

A few hours later, all the Elders were once more sat in their ‘living room’, as Debbie called it. Vex was sat on the sofa gently playing with Ho-Tan’s hair who was sat on the floor scribbling in her personal book. Flowers was next to Vex, thankfully clothed from the waist down and massaging Pressley’s knee which was propped up on his lap while Pressley semi-dozed on the rest of the sofa. Choop wasn’t present yet, and all the Elders were equally confused at his absence.

“You don’t think he’s been kidnapped, do you?” Ho-Tan asked, her hand twitching at the concept as she imagined the oldest Elder in such a situation.

“Oh no, dear girl. I’m sure he’s just busy doing Chief Elder things. It’s a busy job. He’ll be here soon, I’m sure of it.” Vex assured, his ‘wise’ words soothing Ho-Tan’s nerves as she settled back into the re-plaiting of her hair.

“He might be redoing his hair, who knows how long that must take to keep in shape” Flowers ponders, grinning at the bark of laughter from Pressley.

“It does look fantastic though.” Vex responds, followed by the group all muttering agreement before settling back into a comfortable silence.

It’s not much later that the room’s door opens wide, led by a silver rolling tray with plates and a large silver pot on it, being pushed by the missing Elder himself. He looked very much un-kidnapped but was wearing a yellow flowery apron over his robes. All the Elders perked up at the sight, followed by gasps of appreciation.

“Oh Choop!”

“I say Old Boy!”

“Choop Stew! Get In!”

“Smells like carrot.”

Choop grumbled them all out of the way and quickly served up the stew in the pot to the nice china bowls they had yet to chip and handed them out to the rest of the Elders, shooing them back to their seats. 

“What’s the occasion for all this then? You usually only make your special stew for Special Occasions.” Vex asks around a mouthful of carrot.

“We haven’t forgotten one, have we?” Ho-Tan started flicking through her book to cross-reference the dates, being stopped by Choop gently taking the book out of her hands and replacing it with a piece of bread.

“No no, Old Girl. I just thought we’d had a long day, so I made some food. It’s nothing, really, don’t get all het up the lot of you. It’s just some salty water.” Choop brushed off all the following compliments, very obviously NOT tearing up slightly as he helped himself to some stew before settling in on the Couch next to the now sat up Pressley. He also Very Deliberately Did Not look away to hide his blushing cheeks after receiving an extra kiss on the Cheek from Ho-Tan and Flowers before retiring to bed.


	3. Vex

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vex notices things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am soft and want to be an old person in a magic land living in a shabby teapot castle with my closest friends and we're all in love.

Vex considers himself a very wise man. This is backed up by the rest of the Elders and his literal Title as Wise Elder Vex. And although others (Debbie) may disagree, there is a _reason_ he was given the title.

Vex notices people, little things they do or how they react to things stick in his brain and observing them is a simple feat. And there are no other people Vex notices more than the Elders. He loves them all dearly, as should be obvious by now, and nothing makes Vex feel more wise than when he correctly observes something about them and finds something appropriate to leave scattered about the Chambers for them to find.

Choop is often colder than he appears, he’s the scrawniest of the bunch, and although he doesn’t like to show it, he’s shivering when even the slightest draft whisks through the corridors. All the other Elders take his word for it when he waves away the concerns, or offerings of robes from one _certain_ Elder, but Vex notices the more frequent colds the older Elder gets in the winter. He also knows that if he were to just give Choop a new robe or blanket the stubborn man would never use it. So, when the next release of Luxi-Bum 620.4.5 comes out, Vex scrambles to take the order instead of Ho-Tan, as is usual, and quickly writes in the special request form to have one of the pillows be fitted with warming magic pads, along with a coin purse of the extra charge.

Choop never says anything about it, but Vex’s hand gets a subtle squeeze the day after they arrive, from Choop’s considerably warmer fingers finding his in-between meetings before quickly darting away. And if Vex notices Choop’s cheeks being slightly redder than normal then he doesn’t say anything.

Flowers is obviously a very ‘free’ spirit, in all senses of the word. One would think it strange how comfortable he is in such a bureaucratic position, but then they remember how little bureaucracy the Chamber of Elders _actually_ take part in and that concern is quickly forgotten. But Vex notices on the busy weekdays when they barely leave the chamber that Flowers fiddles much more with his robes, fidgeting in his seat the longer he has to sit still during the long meetings that can sometimes last up to half an hour. Not being the Scribe like Ho-Tan, Flowers has very little to keep himself preoccupied during meetings; and is not like Vex and Choops, enjoying to sit still and discuss topics in circles for hours, nor like Pressley who is often either drunk or too deep in his own thoughts to even notice the time passing. So, one day, just before Vex stops at Ho-Tans door to say goodnight, he leaves a little package outside Flower’s chamber door. The next day, Flowers is still fidgeting, but is much less uncomfortable having to sit in his robes for the day, letting his hands stay preoccupied with the chain of fake flowers that he consistently takes apart and puts together into different varieties of crowns and necklaces, and if Vex sits during dinner wearing the latest chain wrapped around his hat, with his own face glowing from the passionate smooch left on his cheek by Flowers, then nobody notices.

Pressley’s chambers is full of little things he has collected throughout the decades, he doesn’t let it show but the man is probably the most sentimental out of all of them, and certainly the most nostalgic. So, Vex knows to not give him even _more_ things to clutter up his bed chambers with. But, on a bad day, when Pressley is drunker than usual, leaning heavier on his cane and a far, far away look in his eyes, Vex will swap the rum in his cup for a muscle soothing potion (with a little bit of rum mixed in to hide the taste) and will push Choop to finish the meetings early, scuttling off ahead of them all to get the fire lit in the sitting Chamber before Pressley arrives. He also keeps an eye on the fastenings on Pressley’s medal, buying new fixtures months in advance, ready to hand over whenever the previous one wears away. He can’t buy anything for the Elder that seems to have one of everything, but he can make sure what he does have is well looked after. Vex can’t help the little glow of pride that overcomes him as Pressley winks at him over dinner, talking about how the rum tastes ‘more herbal than usual’.

Of all the Elders, the one that Vex loves to notice the most is Ho-Tan. He loves them all equally, of _course_ , but Ho-Tan is his wife, and was the _first_ true love of his life. And nothing brings Vex greater joy than seeing Ho-Tan grin up at him after he finds the perfect gift. He had to be told a few years ago that he couldn’t buy her a new quill every week, and Ho-Tan still has over 30 stashed away in her bed chambers. Instead Vex has settled into little everyday gifts. Instead of intricate quills made from the feather of a Carrot (named after its striking resemblance to the vegetable), he instead leaves extra sparkly hair ties on her vanity, or an ‘eyelash curler’ he nagged Debbie to bring from her world. Tiny things that amount to nothing money-wise, but the shine in Ho Tans eyes as she stares at her in the mirror, running her fingers over her eyelashes and the shine in her hair matching what Vex sees in her every day is worth more than any amount of gold he could spend.

And if, once a year, all the Elders wake up to a small wrapped box in front of their door, with an expensive new hair gel, or Yonderland Chakra Chart, or silver cane topper, or golden ink bottle, then Vex pretends not to notice, and in return the Elders pretend not to notice the new earrings Vex cycles out for the rest of the week, each one matching a different Elder’s eyes.


	4. Flowers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Flowers loves skin to skin touch

Flowers knows his nudity is not always welcome in the Chamber. He’s _well_ aware of this and is _completely_ fine with that. And is _also_ completely fine with totally ignoring that unwelcomeness and shedding his robes anyway.

The only time he truly wouldn’t mind being clothed is when he is alone and close to the rest of the Elders, in their spare time. Luckily, they don’t seem to mind as much behind closed doors.

In the morning, Flowers will often walk arm and arm with Ho-Tan in the garden, him totally nude as he likes, and her in her nightgown, which for her is quite scandalous. He doesn’t say anything about it, knowing she’d say if she truly was uncomfortable, instead relishes in the feeling of her body heat on his arm, of her chest leaning against his back as she brushes through his hair, speaking to him in her soft voice about the day ahead. He often runs his hand over her bare knees while she does this, relishing in the skin to skin touch.

Choop is not one for big displays of physical affection, often flustering himself into a tizzy and having to sit down, so Flowers knows to not overwhelm him. But he always peppers it in gradually throughout the day. A kiss on the forehead as he walks into the meeting chamber, a squeeze on the arm as they adjourn for the night. Flowers always revels in it when he’s able to nuzzle his face into Choops cheek, often the only skin uncovered, unfortunately. He can feel the blush as it rushes to the Chief-Elder’s face against his, and the smile Choop fights to not let reach the surface as he gently, oh so subtly, pushes back against Flowers face.

Flowers will occasionally put his hands into Vex’s massive sleeves, claiming cold hands despite the arguments of “just put on a shirt” and “you are completely nude why are just your hands cold?”, and the fact that all the Elders are aware of the insane body temperature he constantly runs at. But Vex never seems to get any actual words out himself, instead his usual strange garbled noises escaping as Flower’s hands gently run along his forearms followed by a “pep pep pep it’s all fine, it is rather chilly today, in the hand area of the building.” Flowers always notices Vex’s fingers gently running along his arms, at first seeming to genuinely be trying to warm them up but then settling into gentle caresses.

And finally, Pressley. Surprisingly the least bothered by Flowers’ nudity. To be fair, at first Flowers assumed it was because of Pressley always being vaguely tipsy that put the formalities aside, but as the Elders grew ever closer, and Pressley gradually became more and more sober, nothing much changed. In the evening especially, Pressley would happily let his legs rest on Flowers bare thighs, his stockings off and trousers rolled up as Flowers massaged his bad knee. Or on better days, when he was sat up, he’d shuffle closer and closer until their sides were flush against each other, his hand resting comfortably on Flowers thigh, rubbing small circles into the muscle in a small replication of the massages he often gives Pressley’s knee.

And when they retire to bed, Pressley will wander in at some point, his duties in his own bed chamber complete for the night, and will climb into bed next to Flowers, who is _always_ nude, even in the middle of winter. Pressley is often in his pyjamas, but in the dark of night, when its just the two of them, he joins Flowers in removing his shirt, not _exactly_ the same level of nudity, but Flowers never complains. Especially when they fall asleep pressed up to each other, Pressley’s cool chest and arms squeezing him tight, their breaths in synch as they doze off together, gentle strokes across the others back slowly coming to a halt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SOMEONE LET FLOWERS GO TO A NUDE BEACH


	5. Pressley

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pressley has a collection of rubbish.

Pressley used to have a lot of ‘rubbish’ in his chambers, as Debbie once called it. Ho-Tan once jokingly called it his ‘Dragon’s Hoard’ and the name stuck. He just didn’t see the point of throwing something away when it was still perfectly useable, if a bit dented. Vex once pondered if Pressley saw it as his ‘safe space’, somewhere that is surrounded by him and his things to get away from the world.

However, although his room is full of things he loves, he’s rarely in it, often only going in there to sleep or collect whatever memorabilia he wants to lug around with him that day. The rest of the elders found it odd to have a room so perfectly tailored to ones tastes and filled to the brim with your interests and never spend time in there. But what they don’t know is that Pressley sees his chambers as less like a bedroom and more like a storage room he occasionally sleeps in.

They don’t know that in one of the three wardrobes that fill the back wall is full of beautiful fabrics and dresses he’s gathered throughout his life. They don’t know that at the bottom of that wardrobe there’s a small pile of robe and dress patterns, ready and waiting for the day when Vex wants to alter his robes, or Ho-Tan sheepishly mentions the idea of going dress shopping but not sure what tailor she’d feel comfortable going to.

They don’t know that underneath his military documentation and identification he hangs on his wall, there is almost every note Ho-Tan has slipped under his door, ready to flip through on his sappier of days, already in chronological order ready to be put in a journal for Ho-Tan’s ‘birthday’.

They don’t know that he kept a lock of Choop’s hair after the unfortunate chop, braided and in a small charm necklace that he keeps on his bedside table. Or that he still has the first set of robes Flowers had ever thrown off in his direction. Or that he’s already cut and sewn them into headbands to give to Flowers on a special occasion, subtle roses and sage embroidered in the edges, specific flowers on each one to represent another year together that he gifts every wedding anniversary.

He has no need to spend time in his room, because he always prefers to be around his actual safe spaces and collect the little things they leave behind in case they ever need them again. He’d much rather drink rum with Choop and watch a show with Ho Tan than sit and reminisce when there’s so many more memories to be made first. He may be an Elder but sitting and thinking is for when you get _old_. So, he sits and lets his knee get massaged, and laughs and balks at the people he feels so honoured to have lived long enough to meet and love. 

They don’t know that the almost hundreds of bottles lining the edges of the room are each swiped from the dinner table every evening, the labels lovingly peeled off and the date scribbled on the bottom with a pencil. Each one ready to be reused in case that night becomes a special occasion. He could fill a ballroom with light with the number of candles he could hold in those bottles, and he plans to, on their 100th anniversary. But that’s not for a while yet, so he’s got a lot more time to collect more memories to give back in the future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look me and my friends have thoughts about Pressley's past and yes i will hint to them in this fic.


End file.
